1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink sheet cassette for accommodating an ink sheet used in a thermal transfer recording system and a recording apparatus capable of loading the ink sheet cassette therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today, various types of recording systems have been developed and put into practice as output units for input information. The thermal transfer recording system is a typical one among such recording systems.
In the thermal transfer recording system, a heat-fusible ink sheet is placed over a recording sheet and the ink sheet is heated by a recording head in the form of an image pattern. The melted ink is transferred to the recording sheet so that an image is recorded.
Apparatus of the thermal transfer recording type are in wide use owing to ease of handling and lower noise.
Presently, an ink sheet for use in the thermal transfer recording system is accommodated in a cassette and the spent ink sheet is replaced with a new one together with the cassette for easier management and handling of ink sheets.
With conventional ink sheet cassettes, however, since the feed path of an ink sheet from a feed reel to a take-up reel is formed rectilinearly, there arises a problem that the height of the recording apparatus becomes large and the apparatus size is hence increased when attempting to load the ink cassette obliquely.
Meanwhile, the thermal transfer type recording apparatus is required to provide sheet guides along the feed path of recording sheets so that the recording sheets are fed without departing from the feed path. Accordingly, there have been parts needed for mounting the sheet guides and spaces for mounting them. This has also invited problems of increasing the number of parts of the apparatus and preventing further reduction of the apparatus size.